Luk Warlop obtained a master degree in (organizational) psychology (1986) and an MBA (1988) at the KU Leuven, and a PhD in marketing (1995) at the University of Florida. He studies individual consumer decision making and the social psychology of consumer behavior. His research has been published in J. Consumer Research, J. Marketing Research, J. Consumer Psychology, Int. J. Research in Marketing, J. Accounting Research, Management Science, J. Service Research, J. Personality and Social Psychology, Psychological Science, and several others. His work has been recognized with a best paper award and an long term impact award at the International Journal of Research in Marketing (IJRM), and with an IgNobel Prize. He is currently Senior Editor at IJRM and the president of the European Marketing Academy (2018-2020).
Companies commit considerable resources to building brand associations that resonate with consumers’ identities and facilitate strong consumer–brand bonds. The current research investigates a potential disadvantage of this popular strategy. The results from three studies show that consumers with a high degree of self‐brand connection respond negatively to brand developments (e.g., brand acquisitions and repositioning) that change brand meaning. The authors show that this effect is due to a change in the identity signaled by the brand. The results contrast with existing research, which has consistently found that brand connections promote probrand behavior and serve as a buffer against negative brand information.
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to show that high similarity between a parent brand and an extension category can have a detrimental effect on how a brand extension is perceived to perform on specific attributes. This happens because similarity influences the perceived positioning of a brand extension: lower similarity extensions can be perceived as “specialized” products, whereas high similarity extensions are perceived as “all-in-one” products not performing exceptionally well on any specific attribute. Design/methodology/approach The authors test the hypothesized effect through three experimental studies. The authors manipulate similarity both within subjects (Study 1a) and between subjects (Study 1b and Study 2). Further, the authors test the effect for specific attributes that are physical/concrete in nature (Study 1a and Study 1b) as well as attributes that are abstract/imagery-related in nature (Study 2). Findings High compared to low similarity improves perceptions of overall performance (i.e. performance across all attributes). But as expected, the authors also find that a high similarity brand extension is perceived to perform worse on the attribute on which a low similarity brand extension specializes, even when the parent brands of the extensions possess that attribute to the same extent. This perception of attribute performance carries on to influence brand extension purchase likelihood. Practical implications The degree of brand extension similarity has consequences for how brand extensions are perceived to be positioned in the marketplace. Although high similarity extensions receive positive evaluations, they might not be suitable when a company is trying to instil a perception of exceptional performance on a specific attribute. Originality/value The authors demonstrate a consequential exception to the marketing wisdom that brands should extend to similar categories. Although the degree of brand extension similarity has been repeatedly shown to have a positive effect on brand extension evaluation, the authors document a case when its effect is actually detrimental. This study’s focus on the dependent variable of perceived performance on specific attributes is novel in the brand extension literature.
Ryckmans, Jan; Millet, Kobe & Warlop, Luk (2015)
The Influence of Facial Characteristics on the Relation between Male 2D:4D and Dominance
Although relations between 2D:4D and dominance rank in both baboons and rhesus macaques have been observed, evidence in humans is mixed. Whereas behavioral patterns in humans have been discovered that are consistent with these animal findings, the evidence for a relation between dominance and 2D:4D is weak or inconsistent. The present study provides experimental evidence that male 2D:4D is related to dominance after (fictitious) male-male interaction when the other man has a dominant, but not a submissive or neutral face. This finding provides evidence that the relationship between 2D:4D and dominance emerges in particular, predictable situations and that merely dominant facial characteristics of another person are enough to activate supposed relationships between 2D:4D and dominance.
Because trust-related issues inherently involve uncertainty, we expected individuals’ social-cognitive motivation to manage uncertainty—which is captured by their need for closure—to influence their level of trust in others. Through the results of 6 studies, we showed that higher need for closure was related to more polarized trust judgments (i.e., low trust in distant others and high trust in close others) in the case of both chronic and situational need for closure. Moreover, participants with high need for closure did not revise their level of trust when they received feedback about the trustees’ actual trustworthiness, whereas participants with low need for closure did. Overall, our findings indicate that polarized (either high or low, as opposed to moderate) and persistent levels of trust may serve people’s seizing and freezing needs for achieving cognitive closure. Keywords: need for closure, trust, uncertainty, interpersonal closeness
Trendel, Olivier & Warlop, Luk (2013)
Mémorisation des parrains : l’influence de la congruence du parrainage réexaminée à l’aide du modèle de flexibilité de l’encodage
Plusieurs études ont montré qu’un parrainage congruent conduit à une meilleure mémorisation du parrain. L’expérience menée ici démontre qu’une marque est mieux identifiée après un parrainage peu congruent et qu’en outre, pour un niveau faible d’opportunité à traiter le parrainage, les concurrents du parrain peu congruents sont quant à eux moins bien identifiés.
Priming Consumers with Baby-related Cues Induces Impatience
[Academic lecture]. SCP Winter Conference.
Previous studies have shown that activation of a general reward system promotes preference for irrelevant rewarding items (Li 2008; Van den Bergh, Dewitte et al. 2008; Wadhwa, Shiv et al. 2008). Specifically, priming consumers with hot cues (have them touch bras or rate pictures of sexy women) led to steeper delay discounting of monetary rewards among male participants (Van den Bergh, Dewitte et al. 2008). Also, sampling a product, high in incentive value (e.g., Hawaiian Punch) increased preference for anything rewarding (e.g., food, drink) in both men and women (Wadhwa, Shiv et al. 2008). We build on these studies to demonstrate that priming consumers with baby-related cues will activate the general reward system, as evidenced by acts of generalized impulsiveness.
In 2 studies, we provide evidence that women show increased variety seeking across different reward domains when they are in the fertile phase of the ovulatory cycle. In study 1, women who were closer to ovulation showed more interest in dating a greater variety of potential mates. In study 2, women who were closer to ovulation selected greater variety among existing flavors of ice cream. To our knowledge, these findings are the first to show a relationship between fertility and variety seeking. We discuss possible explanations and the implications of these findings.
Solid Possessions: How Objects Reduce Psychological Distance to Intangible Meanings
[Academic lecture]. EMAC conference.
Consumers frequently rely on objects (i.e., their possessions) for building a sense of self or for “extending” their selves. In this research, we examine if and to what extent the tangibility of objects is related to their self-extending function. Specifically, we argue that objects that signify an intangible meaning may decrease the psychological distance between the self and the meaning. Two studies provide converging support for this prediction. Study 2 further shows that consumers develop a greater attachment to an object that signifies a meaning which is (1) not directly experienceable and (2) personally relevant to them.
Lopez, Ines; Ruiz, Salvador & Warlop, Luk (2013)
Looking for Revenge? Talk to a Stranger
[Academic lecture]. EMAC conference.
When consumers are confronted with a negative consumption episode, they strongly tend to share their experience with others. This sharing process may influence the overall evaluation of the episode. In this paper, we analyze the effect of tie strength (the type of addressee consumers share the consumption episode with) and their interest in the product on the formation of the satisfaction response. The analysis reveals that strangers are better addressees than friends. Our results show that satisfaction is higher when the addressee is interested in the product, while anger mediates the effect of addressee and interest on the product on satisfaction. Additionally, our findings also demonstrate that the desire for revenge acts as a moderator in the relationship between anger and satisfaction.
Lopez, Ines; Ruiz, Salvador & Warlop, Luk (2013)
Consumers’ Catharsis and Service Failure: The Moderating Role of Stability Attributions and Regulatory Focus